Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison played a key role in helping forecasters accurately predict superstorm Sandy's landfall in New Jersey on Monday, likely saving countless lives by providing adequate early warning.

While the scientists at the Madison-based Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies aren't forecasters, they pull and package critical data from satellite imagery -- data such as wind speed, temperature and moisture -- that forecasters depend on to pinpoint the path and intensity of a tropical cyclone, said Chris Velden, a senior researcher for the center.

"This was arguably an unprecedented forecast, with five to six days of lead time," Velden said Tuesday. "The models gave the National Hurricane Center adequate time to fine-tune their forecasts and saved a lot of lives."

Superstorm Sandy struck the Northeast on Monday night and high winds and rainfall continued Tuesday, causing billions of dollars in damage, knocking out power to millions and shutting down major institutions.

The western edge of the massive storm also whipped up huge waves on Lake Michigan but spared the Wisconsin shoreline from damage beyond isolated reports of erosion.

At UW-Madison, a team of seven scientists continued to monitor satellite imagery of Sandy.

The tropical cyclone scientists are housed on the second floor of the Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Science Building in Madison.

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They work closely with the National Hurricane Center, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service.

UW-Madison is the birthplace of satellite meteorology.

"Our center is known for developing cutting-edge satellite instrumentation for monitoring the atmosphere," said Velden, the senior researcher.

In fact, a prototype for a new instrument offering even higher resolution than is now available recently was field-tested aboard the Global Hawk, an unmanned NASA drone, during two hurricanes, Velden said.

"It gave us outstanding data," he said. "It flies at 70,000 feet -- over the storm instead of into the storm."

Flying above a storm allows the new instrument, called the scanning high-resolution interferometer sounder, to peer into the environment of the storm, providing even more specific information on temperature and moisture -- two key variables for numerical weather prediction models, Velden said.

Predictions for Sandy's landfall Monday were remarkably accurate. When Sandy departed from the Bahamas on Sunday, several computer models based partly on satellite data accurately showed the storm crossing onto land Monday afternoon in New Jersey.

Data obtained from satellites provides nearly constant and total coverage of the tropics in space and time. As a weather system gains strength, wind shear and the structure of the hurricane's inner core are estimated by instruments aboard satellites orbiting above Earth.

The tropical group at UW-Madison turns "hard" data into usable information for forecasters.

While the Northeast felt the greatest wrath of Sandy, the superstorm managed to stir up Lake Michigan, as well.

In Chicago, residents were told to stay away from the lakefront Tuesday because of a threat of high waves. Portions of the running and bike path along Lake Shore Drive were closed.

A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration buoy in the middle of Lake Michigan east of Kenosha recorded waves Tuesday morning as high as 18.7 feet with winds of about 40 mph.

Farther north off Door County, a buoy recorded waves as high as 10.5 feet with winds of 38 mph.

Sandy lost its punch in Lake Michigan by mid-Tuesday, no longer posing a threat to the shoreline village of Pleasant Prairie near the Illinois border, which had prepared for flash flooding.

The village discontinued an evacuation advisory by early Tuesday afternoon, and instead posted a flood advisory.

The flood advisory later was lifted after the National Weather Service at Sullivan downgraded the size of waves expected to come ashore.

While waves initially were predicted at 14 to 18 feet, they reached only 10 to 12 feet Tuesday afternoon and were gradually diminishing, said John Steinbrink Jr., the village's public works director.

Approximately 3,000 sandbags were filled and distributed in Pleasant Prairie, but no flooding or property damage was reported.

A handful of volunteers started filling sandbags at 6 p.m. Monday and worked through the night to prepare for possible flooding.

Residents placed sandbags around window wells and doors of houses in a 30-block area.